My car and my future

[RoJoHen]

I am so annoyed right now it's not even funny. After a weekend out of town where I drove many hundreds of miles, and then yesterday and today where I drove around town to run my usual errands, my car has now decided not to start. I have absolutely no idea what's wrong with it. It's almost like there is a loose connection between the battery and the rest of the car. When I turn the key, the engine makes zero sound, and all the lights inside the car flicker and flash. I also can't depress the brake pedal.

Also, it's 2am, and I have a job interview in 7 hours.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

Have you checked all of the contact on your battery? If they're fine, you may have a dead battery. Having a friend try and jump it will tell you whether or not that's the case.

 

[ares93]

my friend has a nissan with a similar problem. in can run fine for weeks then simply die. i havent been able to track down the problem yet. same symptoms but i've ruled out the battery. the ECU claims no issues so i'm going through the electrical system for the moment.

check you battery (and swap if necessary)
remove the connections from the battery and let the car be completely powerless before hooking it up again. check the ECU for error code if you get the car running.
fuses... its a long shot but check em anyway.

 

[Australis]

sounds like a loose connection to the battery or a dead battery. Your brakes probably need the engine running to be depressed.

Move the terminals around on the battery. Is there a powdery buildup on the terminals? Clean that off.

Ummm, that's all I can think of. If it's a manual stick, try a rioll start.

 

[RoJoHen]

Not a whole lot I can do right now. My car is currently sitting in a parking lot, and my interview is in less than 3 hours. I am going to camp outside my roommate's bedroom until he wakes up and hope that he'll let me borrow his car for the day.

 

[Finn]

Can you call a cab?

 

[RoJoHen]

No need. Roommate plan = success.

It's honestly a good thing this happened last night. If my car had died this morning, I would be totally fucked.

I'm crossing my fingers that it's just a dead battery. That I can fix.

 

[Mr Awe]

Maybe the starter. Sounds like the connection is there if the lights flicker but if the starter is out, it's physically impossible to turn over.

Mr Awe

 

[AliciaD496]

I had a similar problem with my car where it just wouldn't start and the dome light wouldn't turn on, even the automatic door locks wouldn't work. It turned out the battery clip had been corroded so there was no connection. I don't know if they offer this service in your area but AAA here in Seattle offers a battery replacement service where they come to you and your car. When I had my problem I called them and the driver actually recognized the connection problem and fixed it for me with parts he had in the truck. So if you have something like that in your area it might be worth a call for them to come check it out.

 

[Australis]

Alicia! Haven't seen you in ages! Hope you're doing well!

 

[Robert Maxwell]

If you suspect it is the starter, you can test that by having one person crank the engine while another taps on the starter with something bulky (tire iron, wrench). If doing that makes it start, then your starter is going out. Of course, if the starter is too far gone or the solenoid has failed, this won't work.

 

[Ablative_Oberth]

I am so annoyed right now it's not even funny. After a weekend out of town where I drove many hundreds of miles, and then yesterday and today where I drove around town to run my usual errands, my car has now decided not to start. I have absolutely no idea what's wrong with it. It's almost like there is a loose connection between the battery and the rest of the car. When I turn the key, the engine makes zero sound, and all the lights inside the car flicker and flash. I also can't depress the brake pedal.

Also, it's 2am, and I have a job interview in 7 hours.

Critical piece of information: WHAT KIND OF CAR and WHAT YEAR.

My Rusty Van had Power Everything when it was New. Over time the Power Everything developed shorts and other issues that would drain my battery suddenly.

I stripped most of it out, haven't had a battery failure in several years now.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Rojo, good luck with the interview. I'm useless when it comes to cars so i don't have any suggestions for you there.

 

[RevDMV]

Sounds like a dead and shorted battery. Car electrical systems are odd beasts.

I had a car that had a battery short out once. It just died while driving down the street. Wouldn't start even with a push start(manual shift). When I turned on the emergency flashers the interior light would blink. Really weird stuff.

Replaced the battery and it worked just fine again.

 

[RoJoHen]

Okay, so, the interview was meh. This is the third interview I've had for this company. Today consisted of a bitchy lady giving me dirty looks any time I answered a question (not a good sign), followed by some assessment tests and a drug test. They claim they don't even bother with the drug test unless you're one of their top choices, so that is good.

As for the car. My friend jumped it today, and it worked fine, so it's definitely just a dead battery. Easy fix, right? WRONG. I don't know who installed the previous battery in this car, but I am physically unable to remove the clamps from positive and negative posts. I bought a brand new battery and was ready to install it, but I can't get the old one out!

Oh, it's a 2002 Dodge Caravan.

 

[RoJoHen]

I decided to hit it with a hammer. A whole chunk of the old batter came off with the clamp, but I was able to remove it. Yay new battery!

 

[Captain Ice]

As for the car. My friend jumped it today, and it worked fine, so it's definitely just a dead battery. Easy fix, right? WRONG. I don't know who installed the previous battery in this car, but I am physically unable to remove the clamps from positive and negative posts. I bought a brand new battery and was ready to install it, but I can't get the old one out!

Oh, it's a 2002 Dodge Caravan.

Sounds like he didn't coat the battery terminals with dielectric grease when he installed the battery and when the terminals corroded, they became almost welded to the posts.

 

[RoJoHen]

Well, my "hit it with a hammer" plan worked out, so I'm not worried about it now.

 

[Captain Ice]

If you didn't put some of the dielectric grease on the terminals when you installed it, you would be well advised to do it now before they become as hard to remove as they were for you.

 

[RevDMV]

Well, my "hit it with a hammer" plan worked out, so I'm not worried about it now.

In an emergency a hammer is any tool, and any tool is a hammer...